a new start
by mildlyholmes
Summary: He doesn't care that he shouldn't be doing this, or that she's at least seventy years younger than him. All he knows is that he wants her and that she's beautiful – and he thinks he might want to spend the rest of his life with her. Because if Steve is anything, he's a romantic at heart. /Steve x OC.


**a/n: I just happened to notice that Steve (asdfghjkl) has no love interest in the Avengers. So, voila! Meet Rose Smith, my lovelies.**

The first time he sees her, she's dressed in gold.

He's there, trying to hold Stark and Thor off, using his protective shield to deflect Thor's otherwise lethal blow. There's a huge _crack _and they're all sent flying backwards, and miraculously, Steve's unharmed.

"Honestly, you boys shouldn't even be in charge," she says, exasperated, and Steve picks up a British accent as they all get up in a daze. She's wearing a long, flowy Athenian goddess gown, but though it's supposed to be white, it's gold. Her curls are blown against the wind, held back by a beady material _(it actually looks like a scarf, the way it's light) _tied around her head. It's gold, like the dress, and contrasts to her midnight black locks. So naturally, men stare.

But Thor glares at her. "I am here to retrieve _my _brother," he says fiercely, "whom I believe _you_ took from me!"

"Your brother has killed innocent people," she says sharply to him, looking every bit as goddess-like as Athena herself. "He threatened them, wanted to rule them there and then, and wants the tesseract for that. Do you honestly think we're going to hand him over quietly?" She stares him down, and Thor looks away, not exactly used to women bossing him around. Steve almost smiles, remembering when Peggy was in charge of the soldiers.

"We had it under control, Smith," says Stark in his robotic voice, sounding bored.

She tries not to smile, and this time, he _does _smile. "Obviously." She turns back to Thor, who looks unsure what to do. "Come with us," she says to him, though not unkindly. "I promise you, we mean your brother no harm, but until we're sure that he's not going to hurt anyone else, you'll have us to go through to get him." Thor hesitates, but nods and she turns to face him and Stark, looking satisfied. Steve frowns, noticing that she's completely ignoring him. "I would have loved to see you do _that_, Stark," she grins, and with a crack, she's gone.

All Steve knows is that if he were Thor, he would have agreed in a heartbeat.

;

He asks Stark who she is the next day.

"Rose Smith," he answers. "She's sort of a sidekick in SHIELD because she's only ever there less than half the time I'm around. But when she's around, she'll show you who's boss."

Steve nods, processing the information. "What's with the 'Stark', 'Smith' thing between you two?" he asks before he can stop himself. Stark always had a way with women, and Steve didn't really want him to get his way with _her._ Stark laughs. His laughter goes on a while, and Steve isn't sure what to say. "I mean," he says half-heartedly, "I should be the only one allowed to call you Stark, with me knowing your great-whatever grandfather."

"First of all," Stark says, "don't say 'allowed'. Sounds far too possessive for me to bear." When Steve frowns, not following, he sighs., dismissing the statement with a wave of his hand. "And to answer your question, she's like a sister to me, and we tease each other all the time," he says matter-of-factly. "Don't worry about me taking her away, lover boy."

Steve jerks back, astonished, while Tony smirks winningly. He quickly tries to deflect the blow. "But shouldn't you–"

"As touching it is as finding Tony talk about me in such a lovable way," a voice interrupts, Steve turns to find the subject of their conversation standing there, clad in a black suit similar to Natasha's. "You really should be quieter," she says, holding back a smile.

Tony holds his hands up, grinning at her. "He asked me about you."

"I was just Steve starts.

"Save it," she tells him, smiling. Steve immediately shuts his mouth at her command, and Tony notices, smirking. There's an announcement and Fury wants them to meet the others, so he follows behind Steve and Rose.

"You're whipped," Tony smirks, and speeds up to join Rose, leaving Steve frustrated.

;

His first attempt at getting close to her is a failure, at first.

Everybody else is being smart, and while Steve was born as a soldier he wasn't born with the brains. He wanders around aimlessly, hoping to find her. And he does.

Her door is open and she's sitting on a small bed, a pocket watch in hand. Steve identifies it as one of his, one that went missing. _(He's secretly satisfied it's his because now he'll be able to start the conversation.)_

He knocks and she looks up, eyes meeting for a second. Blue eyes meet blue, and a spark of _something _passes between them. Then she nods and he comes in, hands behind his back like the respectful man he is.

"I see you're not suited up," she observes, gesturing at his informal attire. He glances down at his t-shirt and jeans, and shrugs.

"I see that you aren't either," he replies, gesturing to her denim jacket and tights, and she gives him a small smile. She looks pretty when she does that, and he makes it a goal to make her smile more.

"Suits are tight," she tells him, "doesn't fit me properly. Sorry, but why exactly are you here?" she asks bluntly, and he almost apologises. _('Sorry,' he'd stammer, 'I'll just leave you be. Have a good day, ma'am.)_

Instead, he forces back the heat behind his ears, and gestures to the watch. _Stupid boy; what would Peggy think?_

"That's one of mine," he tells her, "I noticed you looking at it." She apologises and hands it to him. "Thank you," he says, and she nods. He stays standing, and she looks up, expecting him to leave. "Oh," he says quickly, "I'll just go, then," he says, giving her a small smile and starts to walk out.

Just as he's cursing himself for his shyness, she calls to him. "Actually, Captain Rogers," she calls, and he stops in his tracks. "I was looking into the plan Fury sent me. I was wondering if you wanted to devise tactics with me."

Her tone sounds humouring, and Steve decides that two can play at the game. "Sure," he tells her, and she makes room for him to sit down next to her. "But just one thing," he says, daring to give her a smirk. "Call me Steve."

;

When Clint and all the other possessed or influenced members come for Loki, Rose wards them all off like a goddess, like Athena.

It's funny because she carries a wand.

She told him that she's a witch, from England, and she's been with SHIELD for over seven years now. She shows him her wand and all the magic she can do with it; make things fly, summon things and make an object burst into flames. He finds her fascinating.

And now, watching her fight, it's truly admirable.

Her hair is one second late after every duck, every blow; she's not had time to tie it up so it hangs loosely, much like Natasha's. She moves with the same graceful yet deadly stance as Natasha, and, combined with her spells, she's a ray of light in a sea of colours. Her enemies don't stand a chance.

"Steve!" Rose yells, and he comes to his senses, shaking his head. "Don't just stand there like an idiot, go help Tony!"

He's reluctant to leave her alone, but she's perfectly capable of handling herself. So, he leaves as she sends a man twice as heavy as her flying.

;

They're all celebrating after Loki and Thor are gone, in Tony's newly built tower. Steve admits, it's admirable, definitely more so than the one before. Rose is there, Tony's arm slumped around her shoulder as she accepts a bottle of champagne from him. Steve feels shy to approach her; she looks extra beautiful today. Bruce is there too, after promising Tony that he wouldn't lose control and smash his 'baby'.

Steve sits on the sofa, aimlessly swirling the champagne in his glass around as he takes a sip. He watches Tony and Rose, jealous of their careless behavior around each other. But at least Tony only views her as a sister.

She laughs as Tony cracks a joke and Steve honestly thinks it's the most melodic thing he's ever heard. She throws her locks back and they bounce around against her back, contrasting with the simple white dress she's wearing. He can't help but notice that she's wearing the same headband she wore when he first met her. He sighs, looking away as she catches him staring.

Pepper arrives and Tony's attention is diverted to the blonde, as he kisses her hello. Steve looks away, feeling left out, when the chair dips and he turns to find her there. She smiles at him, and he nods back, noticing her lips more red than usual. It suited her, but it made him uncomfortable; he was a man, and she looked _soincrediblysensual_.

He gestures towards her headband as a distraction. "You wore that when I first met you," he states, and she nods, smiling.

"Glad to know you remember," she says, downing her glass of champagne. She gets up to get another, but he catches her wrist.

"I never asked you why you were wearing that dress the first time I saw you."

She throws her head back, laughing. Her curls cascade down her back, and he watches appreciatively. "I wanted to make an impression," she says, smirking as she tugs her wrist away. He watches her as she walks away, swaying her hips slightly.

;

Steve is staring at her, and Rose is staring at him, and Tony is tired of it. They keep mindlessly flirting and laughing, and Tony just knows that sooner or later, they're going to have a go at each other. Tony would prefer later, but their tension was so thick that he can't stand it anymore.

At the end of the night, when they're both having a conversation while sharing the same breath, Tony walks up to them and pushes their heads together. They're both surprised, hesitant at first but slowly warm up to one another, arms snaking around the other's waist slash neck. Rose is the one who breaks away first, surprised but flushed. Steve looks dazed and they both glance up at Tony.

"You're welcome," he tells them. When they both don't do anything but stare at him, he rolls his eyes. "Now kiss!" he urges them, and Steve happily obliges. Tony walks away, satisfied when Rose is halfway on Steve's lap.

;

Somehow, they're both back at Rose's apartment, and Steve can't get his hands off her waist. Ever since Tony pushed their heads together they've been attacking each other with their mouths that even Tony got bored with after a while.

Steve honestly thinks that she's the most beautiful woman that he's ever met, apart from Peggy. With her glorious curls, curved lips and arched eyebrows-she's magnificent. Especially tonight, when he had been staring into her deep blue eyes that he could have drowned in, and she was laughing not at Tony's jokes but at _his._ And now, her lips are on his, and he feels the electricity everywhere. He kisses her again, hands travelling up her waist when he stops suddenly and pulls back.

"I'm sorry," he mumbles guiltily, thinking it not right to go any further with a woman he'd only known for about two weeks. He flushes when thoughts he shouldn't be thinking creeps into his mind. She takes one look at him and sighs exasperatedly.

"Steve, you might not be used to this," she says in a low voice, and he immediately feels aroused, "but in the twenty-first century, if you want to go to the next base, you do it." With that she pulls him against her and grinds her hips against his.

He groans as she smirks, knowing there's no going back now. "I could get used to this," he breathes, and she hushes him by kissing him again. She giggles when he scoops her up, bridal style, as he carries her into her bedroom, lays her on the bed and shuts the door behind them.

He doesn't care that he shouldn't be doing this, or that she's at least seventy years younger than him. All he knows is that he wants her and that she's beautiful and he thinks he might want to spend the rest of his life with her. Because if Steve is anything, he's a romantic at heart.

**a/n: Now, review! (you see what I did there, "Now kiss" eh? Wink, wink? No? Fine.**


End file.
